What are motorised blinds and how do they work?
Updated
A motorised roller blind has a small electric motor inside its roller tube, so it raises and lowers from a remote or a wall control, and on some systems an app, instead of a chain. The motor runs on a rechargeable battery or on wiring, and an installer sets where the blind stops. It has no chain loop.
Motorised blinds are also called electric blinds. This page is about motorised roller blinds, the kind Speedy Blinds makes: a flat piece of fabric wound on a tube. The difference is how the tube turns. A tubular motor sits inside the roller, and when it turns the tube the fabric rolls up or down.
How do motorised blinds work?
You run the blind from a handheld remote or a wall control. Some systems add a phone app, timers and links to smart home systems. A remote can have several channels, so different blinds can be chosen from the same remote. The installer sets an upper and a lower limit so the blind stops in the right place, then tests that it works. A motor may need resetting after a change.
The motor has one of two kinds of power.
| Feature | Battery motor | Wired motor |
|---|---|---|
| Power | A rechargeable battery | A power supply |
| Wiring | None | Cabling has to be planned, and mains wiring is a job for a licensed electrician |
| Recharging | From time to time, depending on the size of the blind and how often it moves | Nothing to recharge |
| Suits | Finished homes | A build or renovation |
Can a motorised blind be used by hand, and can a chain blind be changed to a motor?
Motorised blinds are made to be run from their controls. Whether a blind can also be moved by hand depends on the motor and the blind, so ask your retailer before you try. A non motorised roller blind from Speedy Blinds is chain operated: a loop of chain turns the blind. A chain blind can sometimes be changed to a motor, but it depends on the roller tube and the brackets. The tube is chosen by the width of the blind and by whether it is chain or motor driven, so a change may need a different tube.
A chain is a loop. Australia has mandatory safety standards for blinds with cords or chains, because a loose loop can strangle a young child. A motorised blind has no chain loop.
How long do motorised blinds last, and how do you choose one?
No single figure covers every blind. How long a motorised blind works well depends on the motor, the size and weight of the blind and how often it moves. The installer has to level the brackets, balance the blind and set up the motor. Speedy Blinds publishes step by step programming guides for roller blind motors. They are written for installers, but they show what setting up a motor involves.
- Battery or wired. Battery suits a finished home. Wired suits a build or renovation where the cabling can be planned.
- How you want to control it: a remote, a wall control or an app.
- The window. A motor suits high, wide or hard to reach windows. A very wide blind can bow a little in the middle, so ask whether two narrower blinds would suit better.
Ask your retailer which motors suit your windows, how the blinds are controlled, how the battery is recharged, who sets up and programs the motor, and who you call if the motor needs resetting or stops working.
Other ways people ask this
Are motorised blinds reliable?
That depends on the motor, the blind and how it was set up. Ask your retailer who looks after the motor if it stops working.
Are motorised curtains or motorised blinds better?
Neither is better, because they do different jobs. A motorised curtain track needs a compatible motor, controller and power, and the weight of the curtain and the track layout matter. Your retailer can compare both for your window.
What is the best motorised blind for a large window?
A motor suits wide and high windows. On a very wide blind the roller tube can bow a little, so ask whether two blinds side by side would suit better. Roller tubes are sized by the width of the blind.
Which motorised blinds are best?
That depends on what you need. Compare battery and wired power, the controls, the noise and how easy the motor is to set up and look after. Some motor models run more quietly than others, so ask to hear one working and to see the controls.
How are motorised blinds powered?
Either from a rechargeable battery that needs no wiring, or from a power supply for a wired motor. Mains wiring is a job for a licensed electrician.
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This answer is general information. For your own windows, your retailer's advice and your order with them come first.